Waste paper basket fire extinguisher

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for holding waste paper which has an automatic fire extinguishing capability. A fire extinguishing container is mounted to and above a waste paper container by a plurality of pillars which are received in grooves provided in the waste paper container. The fire extinguishing container has a bottom wall which will fall under the force of gravity when heated. A fire extinguishing substance is contained within the fire extinguishing container and will fall onto any fire within the waste paper container as the bottom wall of the fire extinguishing container falls therefrom.

United States Patent Hunter et al.

[ 1 Mar. 12, 1974 WASTE PAPER BASKET FIRE EXTINGUISHER lnventors: Earl C. Hunter, 7895 Kimlough Ave., Indianapolis, lnd. 46240; Ernest L. Peterson, 4007 N. Keystone Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 46205 Filed: Aug. 28, 1972 App]. No.: 284,287

1m. CL... A62c 35/02 Field of Search 220/1 T, 88 R, 88 B;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1914 Lorimer 169/2 R Spenccr.... 169/2 R Feldman 169/2 R Primary ExaminerRichard A. Schacher Attorney, Agent, or Firml-larold R. Woodard [5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus for holding waste paper which has an automatic fire extinguishing capability. A fire extinguishing container is mounted to and above a waste paper container by a plurality of pillars which are received in grooves provided in the waste paper container. The fire extinguishing container has a bottom wall which will fall under the force of gravity when heated. A fire extinguishing substance is contained within the fire extinguishing container and will fall onto any fire within the waste paper container as the bottom wall of the fire extinguishing container falls therefrom.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures WASTE PAPER BASKET FIRE EXTINGUISIIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention:

This invention is in the field of fire extinguishing devices.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

Many types of fire extinguishing devices have heretofore been proposed for use particularly in extinguishing small fires; however, such fire extinguishing devices have not been completely satisfactory because either they are too complicated thereby requiring relatively expensive fabrication and/or because they are designed for universal use and are therefore not easily adaptable to the following desired function. It is desired that a fire extinguisher be provided which is mounted to a waste paper basket in a convenient manner and which will immediately extinguish any fire within the waste paper basket with a minimum mess and a maximum of safety.

A firc extinguisher which has been designed for a waste paper container is disclosed in U. S. Pat. 2,802,538 issued to D. Subarsky. In this patent, the fire is extinguished by preventing oxygen flow to the fire. As a result, a lid must be mounted onto the waste paper container in order to extinguish the fire. A similar such device is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 2,384,526 issued to W. F. Blake. Several devices have been provided wherein a frangible container of fire extinguishing material is shattered in order to release the material onto the fire. Such a device is disclosed in the U. S. Pat. No. 1,970,863 issued to J. S. Nelson et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,695 issued to H. C. Peltier. A device which uses a fluid to extinguish the fire which expands as a result of the heat generated is disclosed in the U. S. Pat. No. 3,489,223 issued to B. Bundo, Sr.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is a fire extinguishing apparatus for holding waste paper comprising a first container having an open top for receiving waste paper, and a second container mounted to and above the first container and having a bottom wall positioned above the open top which will fall from the second container when heated allowing a substance within the second container to fall on a fire within the first container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved fire extinguishing apparatus for use with a waste paper basket.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved waste'paper basket.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a waste paper and fire extinguishing device combination which is relatively easy to manufacture and which is not complicated to use.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front perspective view of an apparatus incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the top fire extinguishing container 12 of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a fire extinguishing apparatus 10 for holding waste paper. The tire extinguishing apparatus includes a first container 11 which has an open top 18 for receiving waste paper. A fire extinguishing container 12 is mounted to and above container 11 and has a bottom wall 19 positioned above the open top 18. Bottom wall 19 will fall from container 12 when heated so as to allow a substance within container 12 to fall on any fire which is within container 11.

Means are provided on the first container for supporting the second container. The means include three upwardly extending vertical pillars l3, l4 and 15 which are mounted to container 11 and container 12. Container 11 includes a cylindrical side wall which is mounted atop the bottom wall 17. The bottom wall 17 protrudes outwardly of the side wall of container 11 and also outwardly of pillars l3, l4 and 15. The side wall of container 1 1 includes three vertically extending grooves extending from bottom wall 17 to the open top. Pillar 13 is fragmented to show one of the three grooves 26. The three pillars are each slidably received by these three grooves 26 and abut the top surface of bottom wall 17. The three pillars extend inwardly adjacent to the top edge of container 11 and then upwardly being fixedly fastened to the cylindrical side wall of container 12. Thus, to empty the waste paper basket, container 12 along with pillars 13 through 15 may be pulled upwardly so that the pillars will disengage grooves 26. Container 11 may then be emptied and the pillars reinserted into the grooves. It will be noted that the second container 12 is of smaller diameter than container 11.

Container 12 includes a top wall 23 which is fixedly fastened to the side wall of the container. Bottom wall 19 is secured to the side wall of the container by a head of meltable wax 25. Bead 25 is positioned at the junction of walls 29 and the side wall of container 12 and extends internally around the side wall of container 12.

Thus, when the heat generated by the flame within container 11 reaches wall 19, the heat will eventually be conducted to the bead 25 which will melt thereby allowing bottom wall 19 to fall from container 12 and to also allow the substance 24 to fall on the fire. A variety of different types of substances 24 may be used to extinguish the flame. For example, this substance may be water.

It will be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides a new and improved waste paper basket. It will be further obvious that the present invention provides a waste paper basket with a fire extinguishing device which is relatively easy to fabricate and use. Many variations are contemplated and included in this invention. For example, each pillar is shown as having a top portion 22 integrally joined to a bottom portion 20 by an intermediate angular portion abutting the top edge of the waste paper basket. It should be understood that other types of pillars and brackets may be utilized. Likewise, a variety of designs 16 may be secured to container 11, painted onto the container or otherwise marked on the container.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is: l. A fire extinguishing apparatus for holding waste paper comprising:

a first container having an open top for receiving waste paper; and, a second container mounted to and above said first container and having a bottom wall positioned above said open top which will fall from said second container when heated allowing a substance within said second container to fall on a fire within said first container,

means mounted on said first container for supporting is water.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein: said second container includes a bead of meltable wax securing said bottom wall to said second container.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

said first container includes a cylindrical side wall mounted atop a bottom supporting wall which protrudes outwardly of said side wall, said side wall includes three grooves extending vertically from said bottom supporting wall to said open top; said means includes three pillars each of which is slidably received by said grooves and abutting said bottom supporting wall, said three pillars extend inwardly at said open top abutting a top edge of said first container; and,

said second container has a cylindrical side wall fixedly fastened to said three pillars, said second container is of smaller diameter than said first container.

5. A fire extinguishing apparatus for holding waste paper comprising:

a bottom container having an open top for receiving waste paper;

brackets mounted to said container and extending upwardly therefrom; and,

a top container mounted on said brackets above said bottom container and having a bottom wall positioned above said open top which will fall from said top container when heated allowing a substance within said top container to fall on a fire within said bottom container. 

1. A fire extinguishing apparatus for holding waste paper comprising: a first container having an open top for receiving waste paper; and, a second container mounted to and above said first container and having a bottom wall positioned above said open top which will fall from said second container when heated allowing a substance within said second container to fall on a fire within said first container, means mounted on said first container for supporting said second container, said means includes upwardly extending vertical pillars mounted to said first container and said second container.
 2. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein: said substance is water.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein: said second container includes a bead of meltable wax securing said bottom wall to said second container.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: said first container includes a cylindrical side wall mounted atop a bottom supporting wall which protrudes outwardly of said side wall, said side wall includes three grooves extending vertically from said bottom supporting wall to said open top; said means includes three pillars each of which is slidably received by said grooves and abutting said bottom supporting wall, said three pillars extend inwardly at said open top abutting a top edge of said first container; and, said second container has a cylindrical side wall fixedly fastened to said three pillars, said second container is of smaller diameter than said first container.
 5. A fire extinguishing apparatus for holding waste paper comprising: a bottom container having an open top for receiving waste paper; brackets mounted to said container and extending upwardly therefrom; and, a top container mounted on said brackets above said bottom container and having a bottom wall positioned above said open top which will fall from said top container when heated allowing a substance within said top container to fall on a fire within said bottom container. 